Wire unreeling device



June 23, 1953 K, A MOORE 2,643,075

, WIRE ,UNREELING DEVICE Filed May 11, 1949 Z- law Ha M Patented June23, 1953 WIRE UNREELING DEVICE Kenneth Alden Moore, Dayton, Ohio,assignor to Harry W. Moore, Dayton, Ohio Application May 11, 1949,Serial No. 92,540

This invention relates to an unreeling device and more particularly to ahigh speed unreeling device which may be suddenly stopped without anydanger of snarling the wire;

An object of this invention is to provide an unreeling device wherebythe material to be unwound, such as wire, may be unwound at a very highrate of speed, which device may be suddenly stopped at any time withoutsnarling the wire.

Another object of this invention is to provide an unreeling deviceincluding a guide member that rotates so as to feed the wire from thespool, which member winds a spring motor which functions to rewind wireon the spool in the event the withdrawal of wire is suddenlyinterrupted. Furthermore, upon the gradual withdrawal of the wire, aclutch member continues to rotate after the withdrawal of the wire hasbeen discontinued, to thereby release the tension on the wire so that inthe event the withdrawal operation is suddenly resumed, the material tobe unwound, may be rapidly accelerated without breaking the wire.

Another object of this invention is to provide, a tensioning deviceincluding a wheel around which the wire is wrapped, which wheel is actedupon by a clutch member, the adjustment of. which is adjusted by atension arm used in releasing the clutch member.

Another object of this invention is to provide a pair of tensioningdevices for wire withdrawn,

from the spool, one of said tensioning devices being controlled by anadjustably mountedspringurged clutch member, the other tensioning devicebeing controlled by a spring-urgedtensioning arm controlling theadjustment of a clutch.

Another object of this invention is to provide a grooved idle wheel upona tensioning arm provided With a stranded retaining device which permitsthe insertion of wire into the groove, but,

prevents the wire from escaping or jumping out of the groove.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, thecombination thereof and the mode of operation, as will become moreapparent from the following description.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevational View of the unreeling device, showingparts of the spool broken away.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the tensioning device removed from thebase and its standard.

Figure 3 is an exploded view of a clutch mechanism and the partsassociated therewith.

Figure 4 is an exploded view of the spinner assembly.

In the drawings, the reference character l in- 1 Claim. (Cl. 242-128)dicates a base supporting a standard I2. Thev base l6 supports a stubspindle l4 used in sup- A spinner assemporting a spool 16 of wire I8.bly 20 for feedingthe wire l8 from the spool will now be described.

This, spinner assembly includes a core member 22 provided with avertically disposed slot 23 receiving, a leaf spring member 26 curvedoutwardly, as clearly seen in Figures 1 and 3. The lower end of thespring 26 is held in position by a cylindrical capping member 36-provided with a suitable set screw 32. A. collar 34, fixedly attached toa reduced spindle portion 36 integral with core member 22 functions as aspring retainer and as a stop for supporting the core member 22 in an.aperture 6.6 in the spool 16. The spring 26 cooperates with the coremember 22 to resiliently hold the spinner assembly 20' in position.

The upper end of the reduced spindle 36 is pro- Vided with threads. 42.A. nut 44 provided. with an annular flange 46- threadedly engages thethreads 42 and is used in compressingv a tension spring 48 seated upon aflange 66 integral with a clutch. member 52. The clutch member 52' isprovided with a slot 54 extending parallel to: the reduced spindleportion 36 and receives a pin 56 passing through a suitable aperture 58in the reduced spindle portion 36.. When assembled, the

pin56. is seated in the. slot. 54., so that member 52 is non-rotatabl'ymounted; upon the reduced spindle. portion 36, but may be adjusted,axially.

A friction clutch member. 66 is mounted upon. thereduced spindle portion36 in contact with the. clutch. member 52. Member 66 may be made fromleather, fibrous material or any other suittable material. A floatingclutch member 62. is mounted in contact with member 60 and is free torotate upon the spindle portion. Member 62 is mounted for rotation uponthe outer race 64 of a roller. bearing assembly 66 mounted upon thespindle 36. The floating member 62 is provided with an annular recessin. which. the outer race of. the bearing assembly 66. is mounted. Thefloating member 62 is provided with an aperture receiving. the upper end68"of a torsion spring it, used as a spring motor, mounted upon thecylindrical members 12 and 74. The lower end 78 of the torsion spring 10is seated in a suitable aperture 86 in. a rotatably mounted collarmember 82 positioned for rotation upon the outer race 86 of the rollerbearings 86 mounted upon the spindle- 36. Collar member 82 adjustablysupports a wire guide member 90 held in adjusted position by a suitableset; screw 92 engaging member 82. The

, outer end of the wire guide member 90 is provided with an eye 94'.through whichthewire it passes,

It can readily be seen that as the wire I8 is unwound from the spool,this wire will cause guide member 90 to rotate with the collar member82. As the collar member 82 rotates, it winds the torsion spring 10until such time that the floating clutch member 62 slips with respect tothe clutch member 52. The force required to cause slippage of thefloating member 62 and the clutch member 52 is determined by adjustmentof the nut 44 and the tension of the spring 48. The operation of thespinner assembly will be more fully described later.

The standard I2 supports a bracket member I00 in adjusted position. Thebracket member is held in adjusted position by tightening the set screwI02. The outer end of the bracket I00 has mounted therein a tubularsleeve I04 provided with a clutch flange I06. The sleeve I04 isnon-rotatably mounted in the bracket I00. A suitable set screw may beused for holding the sleeve I04 in fixed position with respect to thebracket. The tubular sleeve I04 is provided with internal threads I08threadedly receiving a spindle I I0 having a reduced portion I I2supporting roller bearings I I4, the outer race of which is seated in asuitable recess in the grooved clutch pulley H6. The grooved pulley H6is mounted for rotation upon the roller bearings I I4. A friction clutchmember I20 is mounted between the grooved pulley I I6 and the clutchflange I06. By rotating spindle member IIO, the clutch members,including the clutch flange I06, the friction clutch member I20 and theclutch face of the grooved pulley II6, are loosened" and tightened byunscrewing or screwing spindle member I10 into the tubular sleeve I04.The efiective position at which the clutch members grip may be adjustedby tightening a nut I threadedly engaging the outer-end I32 of thespindle H0. The nut I30 engages a member I34 provided with a tubularflange portion I36 engaging the inner race of the bearing H4.

The spindle member H0 is provided with a cylindrical end portion I40projecting beyond the tubular sleeve I04, having adjustably mountedthereon a block I having mounted therein a rod I52. The block I50 isheld in position upon the reduced end portion I40 by a suitable setscrew I54. The rod member I52 may be adjusted axially with respect tothe block I50 by loosening the set screw I55, as will appear more fullylater. A tension spring I56 biases the rod I52, together with the blockI50 and the spindle member H0, in a counterclockwise direction, asviewed in Figure 1. One end of the tension spring I56 is hooked into aneye in the end of the rod I52 and the opposite end attached to a bracketI58 held in adjusted position by a set screw I60 on the upper end of thestandard I2.

The end of rod member I52 opposite the spring I56 supports an idlerpulley I10, held in position by a pair of collars I12 and I14. A bracketI16 attached to the collar I12 supports strands I projecting into thegroove inthe pulley I10. These strands may be any suitable material,such as nylon, wire, bristles, et cetera.

A resilient friction wheel 200 that is bevelled,

so as to be seated in a groove of the pulley H6, is mounted for rotationupon a pintle 202 fixedly mounted in a lever 204 mounted upon an arm 206integral with the bracket I00. The upper end of the lever 204 is biasedin a counterclockwise direction by a suitable tensionspring 208, havingone end attached to the bracket I00. The wide surface Il6a of the pulleyH6 forms a 23 angle with respect to the axis of rotation of the pulleyH6.

The arm 206 supports a tubular wire guiding member 2I0, so that as thewire I8 is unwound from the spool I6 and leaves the eye 94 of guidemember 90, the wire passes through the tubular wire guiding member 2I0so as to be wrapped around the pulley II6 several convolutions, thenumber depending entirely upon the particular requirements of theassembly. The wire, as it is unwound, gradually slides down into thebottom of the V-shaped groove of the pulley II6, so that the lastconvolution is located in the deepest portion of the groove. The 23angle slope to the surface I I6a expedites this movement of theconvolutions. The wire I8, upon leaving the pulley II6, passes under thepulley I10. The bristles I80 yield when inserting the wire I8 into thegroove in the pulley I10.

The nut I30 is preferably so tensioned that when the rod I52 is in thefull line horizontal position, as viewed in Figure 1, the clutch membersI06, I20, and the clutch face of member II6, hold the parts in anonrotatable manner, in other words, lock the pulley I I6 in position.When there is a demand for wire, the upper end I80 of the wire, asviewed in Figure l, is pulled and the rod I52 is raised into an inclinedposition, as illustrated by the dot-dash position, thereby unscrewingthe spindle IIO a fraction of a revolution, so as to release the tensionupon the clutch members I06, I20 and H6, thereby permitting the pulleyII6 to rotate, withdrawing wire from the spool I6. The rod I52 mayoscillate slightly, de-

,- pending upon the rate at which the wire is withdrawn from the spool.

As the wire is withdrawn from the spool, guide member together with thefloating member 82 rotates, so as to tension the torsion spring 10,eventually causing the floating clutch member 62 to slip, member 62continuing to slip while the wire is withdrawn.

In the event the withdrawal of the wire is suddenly stopped, the rod I52drops into a horizontal position, arresting the rotation of the pulleyII6. When this takes place, there may be a tendency, due to the inertiaof the wire and the rotating parts, for the wire to continue unreeling.However, due to the action of the clutch members 52, 60 and 62, therotation of guide member 90 is arrested. When guide member 90 isarrested, the energy stored up in the spring motor 10 rotates the member90 in a counter direction to the direction of rotation of the wire thatis unwound, so as to rewind any slack in the wire.

In the event the withdrawal of the wire is gradually slowed up, so thatno wire is unwound in excess of requirement, the energy stored up in thespring 10 will cause member 62 to continue to rotate until the tensionin the spring 10 has decreased beyond the force required to cause theclutch members to slip. Due to the release of the tension of the spring10, either by rewinding wire upon the spool or by slippage of the clutchmembers, or both, it can readily be seen that the resistance exerted bymember 90 is less during the initial withdrawal of the wire than afterthe wire has been withdrawn for a considerable period of time, so as totension the spring 10. In other words, the tension exerted by member 90is not as great during the initial unwindin operation as it is when thewire has been unwound for a period of time. This results in a reductionof the breakage of wire.

With some types of unwinding machines the wire may be unwound by themachine at the rate of 100 miles per hour. It can readily be seen thatthe forces required to withdraw the wire at such a rapid speed,especially in initiating the withdrawal of the wire, are very great.That being the case, if the tension upon member so were not releasedwhen the withdrawal operation ceases,

there would be a tendency for the wire to break.

The unwinding of the spring motor ll), either by rewinding wire afterthe withdrawal of the wire has ceased, or by slippage of the clutchmembers 5% 56 and 52, releases the tension of the wire to permit theinitial withdrawal of the wire to be accelerated at a very high rate ofspeed without danger of breakage.

Wire, as used herein, is used to designate any suitable material thatmay be unwound from a spool. For example, the device could be used forunwinding plastic material having the desired characteristics or anyother material presenting the same problem or a similar problem to thatof metallic wire.

Although the preferred embodiment of the device has been described, itwill be understood that within the purview of this invention variouschanges may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement ofparts, the C011:- bination thereof and mode of operation, whichgenerally stated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objectsset forth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

In an unreeling device for unreeling wire from a hollow spool, thecombination including a core member non-rotatably mounted in the spool,said core member being provided with a spindle projecting outwardly fromone end of the spool, a pair of roller bearings mounted on the spindle,said roller bearingsbeing mounted in spaced relation from each other,one of the roller bearings being mounted in close proximity to thespool, the other roller bearing being further removed from the spool, awire guide member, means for attaching the wire guide member to theroller bearing nearest to the spool, said wire guide member havin an eyein one end thereof dle, said second clutch member being mounted forlongitudinal movement upon the spindle, means for adjusting the secondclutch member longitudinally upon the spindle, said second clutch membercooperating with the first clutch member to provide slippage, the degreeof slippage being adjusted by adjusting the second clutch member, thehelical spring being wound in response to the wire guide memberunwinding the wire from the spool, the second clutch member slippingwith respect to the first clutch member upon the spring being wound, there1ative movement between the first clutch member and the second clutchmember continuing after the wire guide member has stopped so as topartially unwind the spring to absorb slack in the wire to preventsnarling so as to have the wire in readiness for a succeeding unwindingoperation.

KENNETH ALDEN MOORE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 988, l44 Corley et al Apr. 4, 1911 1,159,815 Walsh Nov. 9,1915 1,3e8,32l Rogers Aug. 3, 1920 1,647,198 Sands Nov. 1, 192'?2,363,677 Kirk Nov. 28, 194.4 2,514,264 Soper July 4, 1950 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 401,483 Great Britain Nov. 16, 1933

